FLORIST Alan Rubery-Jones marked his 40th birthday early with a 10,000-ft sky dive to raise £700 for Shropshire Air Ambulance.

The dive was a combination of free fall and then gliding down on a parachute above an airfield in Gloucester.

Alan, from Florabunda, in Ludlow's Parkway, fell nearly a mile through the air for 35 seconds before an instructor pulled his parachute at 5,000ft.

"We went through a cloud and then the ground opened up beneath me.

"I felt a tap on my shoulder and was told to put my thumbs in the harness and the parachute opened. It was a super feeling. We made a very gentle landing on our feet."

Alan last jumped when he was 20. He will be 40 next month and said: "I wanted to mark it by doing something like this. "I'd like to do it again when I'm 50. I want to say thanks for all the support I had from local firms and individuals."